Obituary of John Mari

BIOGRAPHY MARI ~ John Leo Mari passed away peacefully at the Lloydminster Hospital, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at the age of 69 years. John will be sadly missed by his wife Jan of Lloydminster; three children: Dean & Lynda Mari of Lloydminster, Chris & Lisa Wilson of St. Albert, Stacie Wilson and Brad Adams of Lloydminster; seven grandchildren: Dylan, Aden and Dane Mari, Jenna and Zachary Wilson, Colby and Duncan Adams; eight siblings: Valentine Mari of Lloydminster, Veronica Perkins of Lloydminster, Kathy Deaville of Lloydminster, Clara and Matt Wildin of Lloydminster, Regina Collins of Lloydminster, Jean Mork of Lloydminster, Arnold and Debbie Mari of Saskatoon, Ralph and Mary Mari of Lloydminster; father & mother-in-law: Anselm and Vera Sampson of Cape Breton Island; brother-in-law Tony Sampson of Bermuda as well as numerous other relatives. The funeral service was conducted from the First Baptist Church, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 10:00 A.M. with Pastor Mark Breitkreuz officiating. The eulogy was read by Donna Hardy and Brenda Lowrie. The hymns sung were “Just As I Am”, “Amazing Grace” and “How Great Thou Art” accompanied on the piano by Rachael Murphy. The active pallbearers were Dan Valette, Lynn Drechsel, Joe Rooks, John Griffith, Stan Benson and Lou Heidel. Interment was held in the Lloydminster City Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. EULOGY Firstly we would like to extend, on behalf of the family, the sincerest thank you to everyone here today who has touched our uncle Johnny, in your own special way, during the last few years of his life. Johnny had asked me to say a special thank you to Brenda and Neal Lowrie who took Johnny to many of his cancer treatments at the Cross Cancer Clinic. Born at the Lloydminster Hospital on May 13, 1940, John Leo Mari was the third youngest child of Anna and Valentine Mari. He grew up on the farm with 12 other siblings. No one ever called him John though - growing up he was given the name Gus - no one seems to remember how the name came about. Johnny is survived by his wife Jan, his only son Dean and his wife Lynda, his step-son Chris and his wife Leasa, and step-daughter Stacey and her partner Brad and 7 grandchildren. He is also survived by 5 sisters and 3 brothers. Johnny was pre-deceased by his mother and father, his brother Paul, half brother Jack, half sister Agatha and most recently his sister Bertha. Most important to Johnny was family. After he was diagnosed with cancer 4 year ago, he was given a few short months to live. He fought with determination to stay alive as long as possible in order to enjoy more time with his cherished family. It is so important for each of you grandchildren, Dylan, Aden, Dane, Colby, Duncan to know just how special each of you were to him. Although he only had a short opportunity to get to know his latest grandchildren, twins Zach and Jenna, he fought hard to be here for their arrival and saw them several times in the past few weeks. His eyes always lit up with the mention of any grandchild’s name or when he had described a recent visit he had had with one of you. He was so very proud of your accomplishments. He loved watching Dylan and Dane play hockey, listening to Aden’s musical talents, watching Colby ride his dirt bike and Duncan’s karate skills. As he was unable to complete his education, it was especially important for him to see each of you do so well in school. You were all the lights of his world. Johnny was first married in 1964 to Doreen Whitney. They had one son Dean in 1966. We will always remember when Dean was about 4 years he bought him his first snowmobile, a “kittycat”. My cousin remembers how Johnny’s eyes twinkled with excitement when Dean first saw his present. We even have it on video when Johnny decided to take “his” turn on the miniature sled - a sight not to be forgotten. Johnny always had a love of animals and especially loved birds and cats. I was told by a couple of his sisters that he would lay in the hay manger playing with the cats when he was supposed to be milking the cows. When he was about 4 or 5 years old, his uncle Valentine told him that if he could put salt on the tail of a bird he would be able to catch them. He would sneak up to them, ever so closely and as soon as he reached out to sprinkle the salt on their tails, they would fly away. The shaker would empty and he would go back to the house to fill it up again. I guess he wasted quite a few shakers of salt, and never did catch one of those birds. His little Chihuahua Duchess became his close companion during the last few months. She provided his constant company on the days when he became confined to home. Johnny had a long career in the dry-cleaning industry. He started out at Quality Cleaners when he was just 16 years old. He was trained right away on how to run the boiler and the dry-cleaning machine and this career lasted up until his retirement in 2004. He was also very handy at many trades. He could do electrical, plumbing, carpentry, mechanics, just about anything that required hands on. He was also very musical. He taught himself to play the guitar and was a very good singer. But as many of you might know, when Johnny sang, he never finished the song to the very end. I’m sure sitting around the campfire at the lake he would start 100 songs, but never finished one. Johnny had many interests. He anxiously awaited every year for deer hunting season to open. He took my son Reid out hunting and helped him get his first deer. He also liked to snowmobile, fish and camp. Another big interest was vehicles - I could not begin to count the number of vehicles he owned over the years. Johnny was well-liked by everyone. Johnny was an honest and simple man who treasured his definition of perfection. Paradise was as simple as sharing an evening bonfire with friends and family after a day of camping, or cooking that roast or turkey to perfection. I would like to share part of a poem at this time with you: Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, Young or old alike, And today may be the last chance You get to hold your loved one tight. So if you’re waiting for tomorrow, Why not do it today? For if tomorrow never comes, You’ll surely regret the day. That you didn’t take that extra time For a smile, a hug, or a kiss And you were too busy to grant someone What turned out to be their one last wish. So hold your loved ones close today, Whisper in their ear. Tell them how much you love them And that you’ll always hold them dear, Take time to say “I’m sorry”, “please forgive me” “thank you” or “it’s okay”, And if tomorrow never comes, You’ll have no regrets about today. For me personally I will miss hearing your threats of HOOSIFUDA, your “wart on the butt” jokes, and sharing those so called “airplane” rides in my vehicle with me behind the wheel. I am sure I can speak for everyone here today that you will be sorely missed. You have touched our lives and hearts in more ways that you could ever know. May you enjoy the peace that you so deserve. CARD OF THANKS Thank you to the doctors, nurses and hospital staff, home care and co-workers at the Dr. Cooke; family, friends and neighbors for the food, visits, flowers and phone calls; the Baptist Church for the lovely service and lunch; McCaw’s for their support and kindness. Jan Mari Dean, Lynda, Dylan, Aden Dane Stacie Wilson, Brad Adams Colby & Duncan Chris & Lisa, Zachary & Jenna Wilson Donations in memory of John may be made to the Lori Craven Memorial or to the Ronald McDonald House.